Greenwood Cemetery

Tom Waring of the Northeast Times reports this week on the pending move of approximately 2000 burials in Greenwood Cemetery to an unused section to make way for expansion of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America hospital on Wyoming Avenue.

Now that the City Planning Commission, City Council and Orphans Court have given their approval, a company affiliated with Cancer Treatment Centers of America will soon begin the delicate process of moving more than 2,000 graves in a decaying section of the Knights of Pythias Greenwood Cemetery to a more fitting location.

Last week, a multi-denominational prayer service took place at the cemetery, where the ground was blessed in anticipation of the upcoming project.

On hand for the ceremony were three CTCA chaplains – the Revs. Luis Centeno, Robin Childs and Wendell Scanterbury – along with Imam Fathy and the Rev. John Large, of Mater Dolorosa.

Preparation work is underway, and the costly task of moving the graves will begin in a few weeks. The process will last six to nine months.

Included in this deal will be an effort to stabilize and preserve the Benjamin Rush house. There does not appear to be any funding for more than that but it is better than the ongoing deterioration that we see today.